The Nathaniel Bowditch House, sometimes called the Bowditch-Osgood House and the Curwen-Ward-Bowditch House, is a historic house and

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

at 9 North Street in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

. With a construction history apparently dating to 1759–60, the house is distinctive as having been owned by three families important in the maritime history of Salem. Its landmark designation in 1965 stems from its association with

Nathaniel Bowditch Nathaniel Bowditch (March 26, 1773 – March 16, 1838) was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book '' The New American Practical Navi ...

(1773–1838), the founder of modern navigation, who lived here from 1811 to 1823. The house now serves as the headquarters of Historic Salem, Inc., which was responsible for its rescue from demolition and eventual restoration.

Description and history

The Bowditch House is significant both architecturally and historically. It is a -story clapboarded house in the Federal style, five bays wide and two rooms deep, with a low-pitch hip roof. The building originally stood at 312 Essex Street, and was moved to its present location in the 1940s to avoid demolition as part of a road widening project. Its most elegant feature is its main entrance, which is centered on the front facade. The doorway is recessed from the facade in a paneled opening, and is flanked by sidelight windows and topped by a transom window. The opening is flanked by fluted pilasters with elaborately-carved capitals, supporting a flat-roofed architrave. The roof is surrounded by a "chinese balustrade", a restoration of a feature the house was known to have earlier. Although long believed to have been built c. 1805, researchers in 2000 uncovered evidence within the papers of Samuel Curwen strongly suggestive that the house was actually built in 1759–60. Curwen's diary identifies plans to build a -story structure otherwise dimensionally identical to the Bowditch house, suggesting that the third story may have been the result of alterations in 1805, at which time its Federal styling would also have been added. The Curwen or Corwin family has a long history in Salem, as shipbuilders, merchants, and businessmen. Samuel Curwen, the builder of this house, was a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

who fled the country at the outset of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and whose estate was plundered during his absence. The childless Curwen left the house to his nephew Samuel Curwen Ward, to whom a young

was apprenticed as a

ship chandler A ship chandler is a retail dealer who specializes in providing supplies or equipment for ships. Synopsis For traditional sailing ships, items that could be found in a chandlery include sail-cloth, rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch, linseed oil, ...

. Ward lost the house to foreclosure in 1800, after which it was bought by a cousin, William Ward. He was a captain of several merchant ships, and was responsible for the alterations that gave the house its present appearance, including the "chinese balustrade" which was representative of his involvement in the China Trade. The woodwork involved in this transformation is now attributed to Salem's master carver,

Samuel McIntire Samuel McIntire (January 16, 1757 – February 6, 1811) was an American architect and craftsman, best known for his work in the Chestnut Street District, a classic example of Federal style architecture. Life and career Born in Salem, Massachus ...

. The Wards sold the house to

in 1811. Bowditch had by then already published his ''New American Practical Navigator'', a major revision and update of an earlier British work that was riddled with errors. This work provided up-to-date information on tides, currents, and astronomical tables, and has served as the basis for modern navigational guides ever since. This house is one of three in Salem to survive (the other two are the house in which he was born, and a second childhood house). The Bowditches lived here until 1823, when they moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The next significant owner of the house was Joseph B. F. Osgood, a prominent Salem lawyer who was city mayor during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. His family owned the house from 1858 to 1911. It thereafter was subdivided into apartments, and went through a succession of owners. Plans by the city to widen North Street threatened the Bowditch House and the adjacent Corwin "Witch House". Concerned preservationists in the community formed Historic Salem, Inc. (HSI), in order to preserve them. The Bowditch House was moved to its present location in 1944, and the Witch House was moved within its lot to accommodate the widened road. It is believed that the original foundation of the Bowditch house may survive under the lawn of the Witch House. HSI restored the Witch House, but not the Bowditch House, which was taken over by the city in the 1960s for town offices. It was returned to HSI in 2000, and given a complete restoration. HSI also leases out several rooms as offices; one current tenant is an office of Orange Mountain Music, the personal record label of

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

composer

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

. The Nathaniel Bowditch House was declared a

in 1965, and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1966.Polly M. Rettig and S. Sydney Bradford (December 23, 1974) , National Park Service and

References

* Bryant F. Tolles, Jr., ''Architecture in Salem: An Illustrated Guide'', University Press of New England, Hanover and London, reissued 2004.

External links

Historic Salem

Salem Tales: Nathaniel Bowditch, 1773–1838, Scientist

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Houses in Salem, Massachusetts Houses completed in 1760 National Register of Historic Places in Salem, Massachusetts National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts 1760 establishments in Massachusetts 18th-century architecture in the United States Federal architecture in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References

External links